Life less fun in the sun for north Europe migrants, study finds

LONDON – Sun seekers who depart north Europe for warmer climes are marginally less happy than those left behind, a study has found.

A sample of over 300 people from Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Britain who resettled in Mediterranean countries found they were slightly less satisfied with life than a much larger sample of 56,000 people living in northern countries.

The sun lovers scored an average 7.3 out of 10 on a “happiness” scale while the stay-at-homes came in at 7.5, the study showed Wednesday.

Lead researcher David Bartram of England’s University of Leicester said the migrants had higher incomes than the average in their new country, but “migration itself can be disruptive to other dimensions of people’s lives.”